We had already crossed the Alps…
Justification -
Sanctification -
When we get what God has done for us,
When we pay attention to what God is doing in us,
God is able to work through us.
Sanctification - holiness - isn’t about sin management - its about pursuing God’s heart for our life.
Romans 6
6 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Baptism -
Death -
John 12:23-26
Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
“Give me all of you!!! I don’t want so much of your time, so much of your talents and money, and so much of your work. I want YOU!!! ALL OF YOU!! I have not come to torment or frustrate the natural man or woman, but to KILL IT! No half measures will do. I don’t want to only prune a branch here and a branch there; rather I want the whole tree out! Hand it over to me, the whole outfit, all of your desires, all of your wants and wishes and dreams. Turn them ALL over to me, give yourself to me and I will make of you a new self---in my image. Give me yourself and in exchange I will give you Myself. My will, shall become your will. My heart, shall become your heart.”
-CS Lewis, Mere Christianity
Romans 6
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
What is sin?
Sin isnʼt only doing bad things; it's more fundamentally making good things into ultimate things. Sin is building your life and meaning on anything, even a very good thing, more than on God.
-Tim Keller
Stockholm Sindrome -
Proverbs 26:11 - As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly.
Romans 6
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
19 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The why -
1) Release
John 8:34-36
34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
2) Renewal
Titus 3
3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.
2 Corinthians 5:16-17
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!
3) Revival
Acts 19
17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. 18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. 19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. 20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
Communion
Small Group Questions:
Romans 6
Opening Question:
• Have you ever had a moment where you realized you needed a fresh start? What did that look like for you?
Understanding Justification & Sanctification
1. The sermon compared justification and sanctification to “already crossing the Alps.” How does that image help us understand our spiritual journey?
2. Romans 6:4 says we have been “buried with [Christ] through baptism into death” and raised to a new life. What does this imagery of death and resurrection teach us about our relationship with sin and grace?
Sin, Grace, and Our New Identity
3. Tim Keller defines sin as “making good things into ultimate things.” What are some good things that can become ultimate things in our lives, turning into sin?
4. Proverbs 26:11 says, “As a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly.” What does this verse reveal about our struggle with sin, and how does Romans 6 offer hope for breaking that cycle?
Freedom in Christ
5. Paul contrasts being slaves to sin with being “slaves to righteousness” (Romans 6:18). How does this idea challenge the way we typically think about freedom?
The Call to Holiness
6. Sanctification isn’t about sin management; it’s about pursuing God’s heart. How does this perspective change how we approach holiness?
7. CS Lewis wrote, “I don’t want so much of your time… I want YOU! ALL of you!” What does it look like to fully surrender our desires, plans, and dreams to God?
8. In what areas of life do you find it hardest to “offer yourself to God as an instrument of righteousness” (Romans 6:13)?
Closing Prayer:
Ask each person to reflect on one area where they need to surrender more fully to Christ. Pray together for renewal and strength to live as instruments of righteousness.